When Adolf Hitler was building up the Nazi movement in the 1920s, leading up to his taking power in the 1930s, he deliberately sought to activate people who did not normally pay much attention to politics. Such people were a valuable addition to his political base, since they were particularly susceptible to Hitler’s rhetoric and had far less basis for questioning his assumptions or his conclusions.

“Useful idiots” was the term supposedly coined by V.I. Lenin to describe similarly unthinking supporters of his dictatorship in the Soviet Union.

Put differently, a democracy needs informed citizens if it is to thrive, or ultimately even survive. In our times, American democracy is being dismantled, piece by piece, before our very eyes by the current administration in Washington, and few people seem to be concerned about it.

The president’s poll numbers are going down because increasing numbers of people disagree with particular policies of his, but the damage being done to the fundamental structure of this nation goes far beyond particular counterproductive policies.

Just where in the Constitution of the United States does it say that a president has the authority to extract vast sums of money from a private enterprise and distribute it as he sees fit to whomever he deems worthy of compensation? Nowhere.

And yet that is precisely what is happening with a $20 billion fund to be provided by BP to compensate people harmed by their oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Many among the public and in the media may think that the issue is simply whether BP’s oil spill has damaged many people, who ought to be compensated. But our government is supposed to be “a government of laws and not of men.” If our laws and our institutions determine that BP ought to pay $20 billion– or $50 billion or $100 billion– then so be it.

But the Constitution says that private property is not to be confiscated by the government without “due process of law.” Technically, it has not been confiscated by Barack Obama, but that is a distinction without a difference.

With vastly expanded powers of government available at the discretion of politicians and bureaucrats, private individuals and organizations can be forced into accepting the imposition of powers that were never granted to the government by the Constitution.

If you believe that the end justifies the means, then you don’t believe in Constitutional government. And, without Constitutional government, freedom cannot endure. There will always be a “crisis”– which, as the president’s chief of staff has said, cannot be allowed to “go to waste” as an opportunity to expand the government’s power.

That power will of course not be confined to BP or to the particular period of crisis that gave rise to the use of that power, much less to the particular issues.

When Franklin D. Roosevelt arbitrarily took the United States off the gold standard, he cited a law passed during the First World War to prevent trading with the country’s wartime enemies. But there was no war when FDR ended the gold standard’s restrictions on the printing of money.

THIS is when our paper money began to become useless. So one must ask, where IS all the gold and silver now? Who has it? Paper is useless. So FDR really did not do America any big favors by doing this. Instead, his actions were wrong. Whoever has the gold has the power. Our paper money is going to become useless one day. This was planned when FDR did what he did.

At about the same time, during the worldwide Great Depression, the German Reichstag passed a law “for the relief of the German people.” That law gave Hitler dictatorial powers that were used for things going far beyond the relief of the German people— indeed, powers that ultimately brought a rain of destruction down on the German people and on others.

If the agreement with BP was an isolated event, perhaps we might hope that it would not be a precedent. But there is nothing isolated about it.

The man appointed by President Obama to dispense BP’s money as the administration sees fit, to whomever it sees fit, is only the latest in a long line of presidentially appointed “czars” controlling different parts of the economy, without even having to be confirmed by the Senate, as Cabinet members are.

Those who cannot see beyond the immediate events to the issues of arbitrary power– versus the rule of law and the preservation of freedom– are the “useful idiots” of our time. But useful to whom?

Got something to say?

About commenting: Chances are there will be times when we can not understand the tone of one another for the simple fact of not being able to hear another‘s voice. Even so, if I find you rude and antagonistic, your comment may not get posted. If I do post your comment in spite of any nastiness, I will not play games with you. If you give me an attitude, you might get one back. Contrary to popular belief, Christianity is NOT rolling over and letting people walk all over them for the sake of “peace.” If you want to come here merely for the chance to rudely attack the people here or any beliefs, then please go somewhere else.

I may or may not “turn the other cheek” here. When the truth is at stake, I find it hard to compromise by being silent for the sake of a fake “peace.” I will not let you get by acting like a jerk with insults directed towards me, the readers of this blog or this blog.

If your comment is not relevant to a post, chances are it will not get posted. If you want to leave me something that is vulgar, it gets trashed. Spamming me will get you no where. Leaving me a "comment" (argumentative or otherwise) that is two, three, four pages long will not go up.

If you want to disagree with a post, fine. But if there are plenty of comments on that particular issue that have already addressed that subject, do not leave a comment expecting me to put it up. I will not.

If you come here to just leave a link, it will not be posted unless we already “know” one another. If a link is not relevant to the subject at hand, it will not go up. If I don't like where the link leads, it will not go up.

Do not use text message code or whatever it is some of you do, as a way to communicate with me. I will not post your comment if you do this. I will not spend time trying to decode whatever it is you are trying to say.

If you try to defend what I believe is deceitful, wicked, sinful and wrong, your comment will not go up.

I will not spend my energy defending my positions on what I already strongly believe. Chances are you will not change my mind and I will not be able to change yours. So peace to you as you leave this place.

This is my little place in the universe. You are welcome here if you are civil. This is my turf, my place. Please remember that.

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Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. --Dietrich Bonhoeffer--

No more long comments please

Please know, I will not post comments that are long and drawn out. So do not leave long paragraphs. They will automatically go in the trash bin. No exceptions. I simply do not have the time or resources to go through each one. If you have something to say, please make it short and to the point. Thank you.